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The Orphans' Home Cycle

CORRECT VIEWING ORDER: (1) Convicts (2) Lily Dale (3) Courtship (4) On Valentine's Day (5) 1918 // The Orphans' Home Cycle is a 3-part drama written by Horton Foote. Each of the three parts in the trilogy comprises three one-act plays: The Story of a Childhood (Part 1), The Story of a Marriage (Part 2), and The Story of a Family (Part 3). The focus is on Horace Robedaux (inspired by Foote's father) and Elizabeth Vaughn (inspired by Foote's mother) at the turn of the 20th Century to the beginning of the Depression, following Horace through three decades, as "seen through three generations of three families." Some of these plays were made into movies, released individually and not in order.

5 movies 1985 – 1996 7h 55m total

Movies in this collection

1918
1918

1918

1985 1h 34m Dir. Ken Harrison

It's 1918, the height of United States involvement in World War I - Liberty Bonds are sold, German immigrants are suspected as traitors or saboteurs, young men everywhere succumb to the patriotism and propaganda and enlist.

On Valentine's Day
On Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day

1986 1h 46m Dir. Ken Harrison

In 1917, Elizabeth defies her wealthy parents by running off and marrying Horace Robedaux, a young man of humble prospects. Her parents have not spoken to her since - even though the couple lives in a rooming house nearby, they are struggling financially, and she is pregnant.

Courtship
Courtship

Courtship

1987 1h 24m Dir. Howard Cummings

In 1915, Elizabeth has fallen in love with Horace Robedaux, a young man her father condemns as a "wild boy." No matter how strict and protective, her parents cannot deter their daughter's growing independence.

Convicts
Convicts

Convicts

1991 1h 33m Dir. Peter Masterson

In 1902, 13-year-old Horace toils on a run-down plantation in rural Texas to buy a tombstone for the father he lost a year earlier. Soll, the crusty old Confederate who owns the plantation and depends on convict labor to keep his farm running, takes a liking to Horace.

Lily Dale
Lily Dale

Lily Dale

1996 1h 38m Dir. Peter Masterson

A precocious teenager abruptly altered family life. His brother, a young a little strange, returns home after years away and threatens to reveal a secret that could devastate the family.